Lead Me
by Chelocean22
Summary: It's 1943 and Clara Reiben is preparing to send her older brother off to war. Two days before he's shipped off to fight in the Italian Campaign, he returns home on a quick leave, bringing a friend from basic with him, Daniel Jackson. In the short time they spend together, Clara and Daniel form a bond that refuses to be broken by distance or war.
1. Chapter One

Chapter One

Smiling to myself, I watched as my mother flitted around the kitchen. She had no idea what to do with herself, but she couldn't just sit still. Richard was coming home. It would only be for a day or two, but that didn't matter to her. She was just happy to see his face and crush him in her arms one more time before he shipped out to Italy and he was truly going to be away from home. "Clara!" I jolted forward, nearly knocking the lemonade pitcher to the tile floor. Ma sighed as I steadied the pitcher and shot her a smile. Shaking her head, she moved over to the oven, getting ready to take out her apple pie, "I need you to fetch your father from the corner store. He's been in there much too long and he still needs to make himself presentable."

I giggled, "I'll go get him, but you know what he's going to say if you try to make him look presentable." She scoffed and shooed me from the kitchen, swatting her dish towel at me. I hurried from the kitchen and out the front door, taking the front steps two at a time. The sidewalk buzzed as always, causing me to sidestep the neighbors and the unfamiliar faces. Bumping shoulders with someone, I turned to mutter an apology, but they were gone, already halfway down the sidewalk. I smiled. Everyone here moved so fast that they sometimes don't see what's around them. I could hear my pops's raucous laughter from the sidewalk and I knew it was gonna be near impossible to get him back home. I was going to have to turn on all my daughterly charm for this one. Grabbing hold of the store's door frame, I swung my self around and into the shop, my skirt swishing side to side and my dark hair swaying around my shoulders. I gave my brightest smile to the small group of men that my pops was laughing with and stepped closer to my father. His back was to me, so I was able to catch his surprise when I threw my arms around his neck and leaned forward to kiss his cheek. He looked over at me, startled, but his face softened when he saw me.

"Clara! Don't go giving your old man a scare like tha'." He looked around before turning back to me with a grin, "Your ma send you?"

I nodded as I detached myself from his broad shoulders, "She wants you looking presentable for when Richard gets home." He grimaced, and I laughed, "Told her you'd react like that." He sighed, and I knew I had to get him out of here before he could argue. Smiling, I put my hand on his shoulder, "Come on, Pops. Make Ma happy." Another sigh left his lips before he hauled himself to his feet and looped his arm with mine. My smile grew as he muttered his goodbyes and led me out of the corner shop and back down to our building. When we reached the front stoop, he let go of my arm and held tightly to the brick banister as he limped up the steps. I watched him, a tight smile gracing my lips. His knee had been bothering him more and more and he refused to see the doctor about it, no matter how much Ma nagged him about it.

"Well come on, Clara."

I snapped out of my daze and hopped up the steps behind him. Pushing the door open, I called out, "Ma! We're back!" There was a clattering in the kitchen, followed by a very irritated voice, directing its nagging at my father.

He sighed and patted my shoulder, "You go on and get ready. I'll deal with this." He nodded to the kitchen and grinned. I smiled back and made my way into my bedroom. Even with the door closed, I could hear my mother going off on my father about how important this day was and how she would never understand how he could spend so much time at the corner store. The only time she paused in her rant was one my father's deep voice cut through, telling her how he would never understand how she got more beautiful each day. I admired his attempts, unfortunately they didn't work. She continued and all he could do was listen until she released him, and he had the chance to change into the clothes she had picked out for him. At this point the nagging had faded and turned into my mother's excited chatter. That was easy enough to tune out as I changed into the dress my mother had all but commanded me to wear for Richard's welcome home dinner. After smoothing down the dress, I sat at my small vanity to touch up my makeup. Deeming everything okay, I picked up my comb and began to smooth some sections of hair. I was so excited about seeing my brother again, but I knew that it wouldn't last long. The fear had already started to grow in the back of my mind and I knew it was only going to get worse. When he had gone off to basic training, I knew I was going to miss him, but the fear of losing him hadn't entered my mind; he was still here in America and he was safe. Now he's going overseas and he's going to be fighting for real. I could lose him.

"Clara!" The comb fell from my hands and I spun around to face my still closed bedroom door. "Clara!" I jumped to my feet and rushed to the front hall where my mother was fussing over my father's clothes while he tried to swat her away. At my approach, she stopped what she was doing and turned to me, "He's here." She grinned and fussed over me for a minute until she pulled back at the sound of the front door opening. The three of us stood completely still as the door hit the wall behind it and Richard stepped inside. He dropped his bag to the floor while muttering to someone behind him, before turning again, "Ma! I'm home!" He looked up to see us and he grinned. I was the first to move as I ran down the hall and launched myself into Richard's open arms. He spun me once as we both laughed, and set me back on my feet, pulling away to look down at me, "Well, baby sister, I didn't think it was possible, but you have become more beautiful than the last time I saw you."

I rolled my eyes and pushed his chest, "You're ridiculous." I looked up at him, "Have you gotten taller?"

Richard smirked, "Nah, this uniform just looks so good on me that it seems that way." He ran his hands over the front of his jacket and I rolled my eyes once again. He only chuckled in response. Ma seemed to have found herself because she rushed forward (I only just got out of her way) and wrapped her arms around her only son. He chuckled and hugged her back, "Hey, Ma." She hugged him tighter as Pops limped forward. I stepped to the side and grabbed Richard's bag from the floor. Ma finally pulled back and wiped under her eyes quickly. I knew she didn't want anyone to see her cry, but it was too late. We all knew. I stepped closer to her and her hand quickly found mine. She gave it a squeeze and I gave one back.

Pops stepped forward and took Richard's hand in a firm shake, "Son."

Richard nodded back to him, "Hey, Pops." They dropped their hands back to their sides and that's when my eyes drifted to the stranger that had stood behind Richard the entire time we had been hugging him. He was a tall, young man (he couldn't have been much older than Richard himself) with light hair and dark eyes and he wore a uniform identical to Richard's. I didn't recognize his face, so I knew he couldn't have been a neighborhood boy. My brother must have noticed my gaze because he stepped to the side and slapped the stranger on the shoulder, "This is Bumpkin," the man turned his eyes to Richard, who chuckled, "sorry, I mean Daniel Jackson." He looked to our father and grinned, "Sharpshooter." Pops's eyes lit up at that and he stepped forward.

"No kidding."

Daniel Jackson nodded, "Yes, sir." Pops held out his hand and Daniel took it, "Thank you for allowing me to stay in your home." He looked over to Ma and nodded to her. My gaze flickered to her also. She did not inform me that we would be having a house guest.

She smiled at him, "Of course, dear. Any friend of Richard's is welcome here." She gestured over to me, "This is our daughter and Richard's sister, Clara." Our gazes met, and I held out my hand.

He took it in his own, shaking it gently, "Pleasure to meet you." I smiled as he let go of my hand and we turned to my mother when she cleared her throat.

"Let me show you where you'll be staying." Daniel nodded and followed after her, Richard and Pops following behind him. I lingered in the doorway for another minute before closing the front door and dragging Richard's bag into his bedroom.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading. I do not own any of the plot, dialogue, or characters from Saving Private Ryan. I only own Clara, her parents, Mae, and my original plot points.**


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

After I had deposited my brother's bag in his bedroom, I made my way down to the kitchen to see if Ma needed any help with her meal. As expected, she was bustling about, talking loudly to Richard who was sat in the other room, most likely nursing a beer. I could practically hear him rolling his eyes as he answered every single one of our mother's questions and I let a few giggles slip past my lips. Her head snapped in my direction and without a word, she pointed to the stack of plates on the counter and then gestured to the dining room. I nodded and grabbed the plates. Her eyes followed me into the other room where I promptly began to set the table for dinner, not daring to make a single sound. I was apparently on thin enough ice as it is.

When the last knife hit the table, Ma glided into the dining room, holding a bowel of potatoes and a serving spoon, "Clara, go tell your father and the boys to come sit at the table. It's time to eat."

Placing my hand on her shoulder, I nodded and leaned up to peck her cheek, "Of course, Ma." She went back into the kitchen to grab the rest of the food and I went into the back room to see Richard telling some story to our father. I leaned against the door frame and just listened and watched for a minute. It felt so surreal to have my big brother sitting here again and even though I knew it wasn't going to last, I felt a happiness spreading through me. My eyes moved over the room and stopped on Daniel Jackson. He was sitting next to Richard, quietly listening to his story, a small smile on his face. He seemed to be a quiet man, but he was very handsome. My eyes traced the line of his jaw before settling on his own eyes, which were now looking directly at me. I straightened immediately and stepped into the room, clearing my throat, "Food's ready." The other two men in the room turned to me and nodded as they stood from their seats. Pops and Richard walked past me, into the dining room, but Daniel stood next to me and motioned for me to go in front of him. I gave him a small smile and stepped through the doorway, Daniel following behind me. Once we were in the room, Richard motioned Daniel to the seat between him and Pops, who was in his usual spot at the head of the table. Ma was at the other end and I took my regular spot in the middle of one of the sides, Richard and Daniel across from me. Meaningless chatter fell over the table as dishes were passed around and food was scooped onto plates. Once all the food was sorted and everyone was situated, we picked up our utensils, ready to dig in, but I stopped when I noticed that Daniel had not picked up his fork yet. Instead his head was bowed, and he was mumbling quietly to himself. I put my fork down and placed my hands in my lap, waiting until an 'amen' passed Daniel's lips before picking up my fork again. It was fairly quiet as we all started eating, most of the noise being that of silverware clanging and food being chewed.

Ma continued to cut her food into small pieces when she looked up at our guest, "So Daniel, are you married?"

Daniel looked up from his plate and shook his head, "No, ma'am, I'm not." His eyes slid over to me for a second before moving back to Ma.

She nodded, "But you've left someone at home? A sweetheart?"

He shook his head again, "No, no sweetheart, just my mama and my sister, Alice." Ma nodded again and went back to her meal.

Richard narrowed his eyes at her, "What are you doing, Ma?" He looked over to me, but I only shrugged. "You finally found a husband for Clara? Or did you give up? Now you're moving onto Jackson because you're bored?" I felt the heat rush to my face and I knew my cheeks were a nice rosy color by now. She huffed, and Richard laughed.

"I am making conversation with our guest." She motioned to Daniel, who looked between everyone at the table, and continued, "I'm trying to find out more about him."

Richard shook his head and leaned over to his friend, "She's been trying for years to fix me up."

I leaned forward, "But she gave up on him a few months ago." I motioned to Richard, "I mean, can you blame her? Who'd want to marry that."

Richard's head snapped in my direction, his mouth slightly ajar, "Really? And what is wrong with me?"

I smirked, "Well for starters, you are quite the loudmouth." From the corner of my eye, I saw Daniel smirk which made my own smirk widen.

Richard shot me an incredulous look, "I'm the loudmouth? I'm the loudmouth?" I nodded, trying to contain my laughter. Richard pointed his fork at me, "And who was it that screamed so loud, all the dogs in a five-block radius wouldn't stop howling for twenty minutes?" My mouth dropped open in shock and Richard shook his head, "That definitely wasn't me."

"Now you're resorting to lies?" I ripped a piece of my roll and held it tightly in my hand, fighting back a smile, "You're spreading lies?"

Richard ignored me as he turned to our father, "That wasn't me, Pops, was it?" Pops shook his head and before Richard could say anything else, I threw the piece of bread at him. He laughed and grabbed his fork, loading potatoes onto it.

Ma shook her head as she saw what he was getting ready to do, "Don't you dare! You will not be throwing food at my table."

Richard held his hand out, "She started it." Ma glared at him and he dropped his fork, but not without a few more mumbled protests. Daniel started to chuckle, and I grinned over at him.

Ma nodded, "And she'll get it later." She turned her hard eyes to me, but I only giggled.

Richard took the opportunity to place more negativity on me, "Now she's mockin' you, Ma." My protests were overpowered by Richard's voice, "You gonna let her get away with that?" Apparently, this was enough to convince her to start in on my lecture now instead of later. I tried to get a word in, but she was not about to let me have any say.

The only thing that could cut through her voice was that of our father's, "Now that I think about it," he had started rubbing his chin, looking at the wall in intense thought, "Clara didn't make the dogs howl that day." His eyes snapped to Ma and he raised his eyebrows. It was quiet for a minute as we all stared at her, waiting to see what she would do.

She frowned, "Don't you dare." Pops only smiled which served to make her angrier, "Don't you go on making comments about my voice."

Pops shook his head, "It's not about your voice, dear." The tension left her shoulders for a second, but it came back full force when Pops smirked, "It's about your shrill yelling." Her face got red and she began shouting at him. Richard and I burst into laughter and I could see Daniel trying to suppress his smile. Pops tried to quell her verbal assault, but she was having none of it. She continued on him and we continued laughing. Then the doorbell rang.

The laughter died down and all eyes went to the front hall, but it was my father who spoke, "Now who could that be? It's dinnertime." He punctuated his statement with the clinking of his utensils on his plate.

I placed my fork down and pulled my napkin from my lap, "It's probably just Mae. She said she wanted to come over early and help me get ready."

My father's eyes snapped to me and narrowed ever so slightly, "Ready for what?"

"I told you yesterday, we're going to the Rosebud tonight." I wrung my napkin in my hands, waiting for his response.

His eyes narrowed further, "What are you goin' to the Rosebud for?" There was a soft knock at the front door, but I didn't dare move until this conversation was settled.

"Well there's a dance there tonight. I told you all about it yesterday."

"Who's going with you?"

I gave a tentative smile, "Mae."

He grunted, "Mae and who else?"

Shaking my head, I looked down at my place setting, "Just Mae, Daddy." I was hoping to appease some of his anger.

"No." It didn't work. I sighed and opened my mouth to respond, but he only shook his head and continued, "You and Mae are not going off to some dance on your own. Especially not tonight with all those servicemen spending their last nights at home." He threw his napkin on the table. He was getting really worked up now. "I know what they're looking for and they won't be getting it from my daughter."

My face flushed, "Daddy!" My eyes involuntarily slipped to Daniel and I saw him glance around the table nervously. I felt my face get hotter as my father kept going on his rant.

Richard's voice cut through the noise, "Alright, Pops, calm down, will ya?" Everything at the table was quiet as we all looked over at my savior. Richard slapped Daniel's shoulder, "Jackson and I will take the girls to the dance and make sure nothing happens to them, alright?"

I sat up straighter and locked eyes with my brother, "Really?"

Richard smiled over at me, "Of course, kid." I rolled my eyes and he laughed, "You know I'd do anything for you."

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it." My brother's smile turned into a smirk, "Plus, Pops gave me a great idea. This could be my big chance to find a pretty dame to _dance_ with all night."

Ma was on her feet in a second, swinging her folded napkin at Richard's head, "Richard!" She ranted on as we watched her.

Richard held his hands up, trying to protect himself from her wrath, "Ma! Come on, it's a joke." He was unsuccessful as she only continued her verbal and physical assault. I took the moment to look back to my father. He hesitated, but ended up nodding. I smiled and leapt from my seat, heading to the front door. As I passed his chair, I leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to his check. He patted my hand and I was off again. Once I made it to the front door, I pulled it open and was met with a small woman with perfectly waved blonde hair, her hand up in midair like she was getting ready to knock again. She smiled at me, but quickly looked over my shoulder when she heard Ma's voice, still reprimanding Richard.

"Hey, Clara." She stepped into the house and turned back to me, "What did I miss?"

I shrugged, "It's been five months, but nothing has changed." I gestured to the dining room, "They haven't lost a step." Mae laughed as she followed me back to the dining room where it seemed that things had calmed down a bit. Ma probably remembered our guest and sat down to try to give him a good impression of our family dinners. Mae and I stumbled back into the dining room and I went straight for my plate, preparing to take it into the kitchen, so that we could go to my bedroom to get ready before Pops had the chance to change his mind.

"Well if it isn't little Miss Mae." Richard had gotten out of his seat and held his arms out. Mae looked over at him and smirked. My brother returned her look and the two stood there for a few minutes, before Mae couldn't take it anymore and she rushed into his arms.

She hugged him quickly before pulling back and looking him over, "Well the army has been good to you, hasn't it?" I rolled my eyes as Richard's smirk widened.

"You think so?" She nodded, and he winked at her. Mae let out a laugh as she released his arms and made her way over to Ma.

"Hi, Mrs. R. How are you doing?" Ma stood up and hugged Mae.

"I'm doing just fine, Mae." She motioned over to Daniel, who had been silent this entire time, "Please allow me to introduce you to Richard's friend, Daniel Jackson." At the sound of his name, Daniel stood up.

Mae held her hand out and he took it, "Pleasure to meet you."

She gave a sly smile, "The pleasure's all mine." Daniel coughed, and his eyes slid over to me.

I smiled gently at him, but directed my words to my best friend, "Come on, Mae." She released Daniel's hand and followed me to my bedroom. I was vaguely aware of a set of eyes following us down the hallway.


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

As soon as we had crossed the threshold into my room, Mae threw herself onto my bed, "Well that Daniel Jackson is quite handsome. Why have I never seen him before?" I had moved over to my closet and started pulling out the few evening dresses I had. I laid them out on the bed as Mae continued staring at the ceiling.

"He's not from around here."

She sat up quickly and stared at me, "Oh, so where is he from? Queens?"

I shook my head and laughed, "No, farther than that." She gave me an exasperated look and I laughed again, "He's from Tennessee."

Her eyebrows shot up and she smirked, "How cute. A nice country boy." Shaking my head, I moved over to my small vanity and pulled my makeup out.

"Are you going to help me get ready or not?" Mae jumped to her feet and began to walk back and forth in front of the three dresses I had pulled from my closet.

She rubbed her chin and squinted at each dress, "So you're not going to say anything about that fine man sitting in your dining room right now?" She turned to me with a perfectly sculpted brow raised. I shook my head at her and pointed to the dresses. She scoffed as she turned back around and continued her inspection. If I knew Mae, then this was going to take longer than it should. "So that wasn't you out there looking at him with eyes full of love?" She turned and smirked at me, but I only rolled my eyes.

"I've only met him two hours ago." She shrugged, and I waved her off, "I was not looking at him with love in my eyes."

This time it was her turn to wave me off, "Please, you were looking at him with something in your eyes." I ignored her and sifted through the lipsticks in my hands. She snorted, trying to get my attention, "So you don't think he's handsome?" I tried to ignore her, but she started to nudge me, smirking at me in the reflection of the mirror.

Finally, I sighed and turned around, "I think you're khaki wacky." She rolled her eyes as I turned back to the mirror.

She fell back onto my bed again, "You sound like my mother." It was quiet for a moment as I stood up and made my way over to the bed. Mae's eyes were closed, and her hands were clasped together, resting on her stomach.

I laid down next to her, "How is that going?"

Mae squinted one eye open, "As well as you'd expect. She keeps pushing him at me and I keep stepping back. He's a dear, though." She nodded, "He sticks around despite the signs pointing to a dead end." She sighed, and I reached over, taking one of her hands in my own. She squeezed my hand and I smiled. Mae threw her free arm up, "But _her_! She doesn't get it. She doesn't get _me_. She just thinks I want to gallivant around with all different men when I should be getting married and settling down. I don't want any of that though. I don't want to get married and start popping out babies and be some housewife." She looked at me quickly, "Not that there's anything wrong with that." She looked back to the ceiling, sighing, "It's just not me, so I go out and do "indecent" things to get away from it."

We sat in silence for a few minutes before I turned and looked at her, speaking softly, "What do you want?"

"Truly?"

My smile widened, "Truly."

Her eyes sparkled as a grin broke out on her face, not matter how hard she tried to stay serious, "I want to be an actress. Being out there and playing a part in telling all these stories to people."

"You'd be a good actress."

She turned her head to look at me, "You think so?"

I nodded, "Oh yeah, you definitely have a flair for the dramatics." I laughed as her face hardened and she pushed me straight to the floor. She sat up and crossed her arms over her chest. I nudged her with my elbow, but she didn't move. "Mae, I was only kidding. I honestly think you'd be a great actress." She huffed and turned her head. Rolling my eyes, I thought over all the possible things I could say, so that she would at least look at me. I sighed. I didn't want to have to bring this up, but I had no choice. Resting my chin in the palm of my hand, I looked up at my best friend, "I think Daniel is very handsome." Her arms loosened, and she turned to me, a big smirk on her face.

"I knew it." She jumped up from her spot and went back to the dresses.

I picked myself up from the floor, "Yes, well are you going to help me get ready now?"

She finally picked a dress and shoved it into my arms, "Of course! You have to look perfect tonight." She winked at me, "Knock the socks right off of Tennessee." Shaking my head, I fought the grin that was threatening to break out on my lips. Mae pushed me forward and gestured to the dress, "Well get changed. I still have to fix your hair and do your makeup."

I stepped forward, "You act as though I'm incapable of doing these things on my own." Mae only pushed me harder, so I shut my mouth and slipped into the dress. Mae circled me and pulled a bit at some parts of the dress before she stopped in front of me and clapped, a grin on her face, "Perfect." She grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the vanity. Pushing me onto the small stool in front of the mirror, she picked up a few hairpins, "Now just a couple of finishing touches to your hair and makeup…" She combed her fingers through my hair and pinned a few rolls before tossing the extra pins down and picked up my favorite red lipstick. After a few more swipes of brushes, Mae was satisfied, and she turned me around to face the mirror, "What do you think?"

I smiled at her through the reflection, "Perfect." I turned to face her, "Thank you, Mae."

She smirked, helping me up from the stool, "Don't mention it, kid." I rolled my eyes at her and waited as she primped herself for a minute before taking my hand again and leading me down the hall, back to the dining room. Everyone was in their same spots around the table, talking over coffee, but they stopped when Mae and I stepped into the room. Ma gushed about how nice we looked while Pops' expression turned stern and I could tell that he wanted to change his mind and make me stay home, but he kept quiet. Mae smirked over at Richard, "You fellas ready to go?" Richard nodded and stood up, slapping Daniel's shoulder. I looked over to the sharpshooter who had been rooted to his spot, but was roused by Richard's smack. He stared at me as he stood from his seat and followed Richard over to the front door. Mae and I followed closely behind, calling our goodbyes back to my parents.

* * *

 **Thank you to all of my readers. I hope you enjoy this chapter. The next one will have more interactions between Clara and our wonderful Private Jackson. I wanted to use this chapter to show the friendship between Clara and Mae because it's important to me and to Clara's character. This is a romance, but it's not just a romance. There's a lot of other things that are going to be happening and Clara is not just a love interest. This is her story, so we're going to be seeing all different aspects of her life.**

 **Oh and khaki wacky means boy crazy.**


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